"For years, I'd spend several hours a day scrolling through social media on my phone - while lying in my bed, watching TV, commuting on the subway, waiting in supermarket lines, and pretty much any other chance I could. This ritual was negatively affecting my mental health, and I'd often experience feelings of jealousy, anxiety, inadequacy, and, most of all, depression. (And once I'd feel depressed, I'd crave a distraction, which created an endless cycle of scrolling.)"
"Because of how negatively this was affecting me, I'd take temporary social media breaks while on vacations (which always felt amazing) to allow me to fully disconnect and enjoy my trip. But about 10 months ago I decided to take a more drastic approach. I deleted my most addictive social media apps - TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X (formerly known as Twitter) - from my iPhone entirely."
"It's been 10 months without social media on my phone, and I've benefited in a number of ways: I feel noticeably less depressed; my sleep has improved because I'm not doomscrolling right before bed; and I have more time to spend on hobbies, reading, and even other phone apps that don't make me feel so bad."
Extensive daily social media scrolling while lying in bed, watching TV, commuting, and waiting in lines produced jealousy, anxiety, inadequacy, and depression and created an endless cycle of distraction. Temporary vacation breaks offered relief, leading to deleting TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X from the phone for ten months. That deletion reduced depressive feelings, improved sleep by preventing doomscrolling before bed, and freed time for hobbies, reading, and healthier phone use. The most sustainable strategy emphasized being gentle when urges to check social media arise, accommodating occasional work-related access rather than expecting complete cold-turkey abstinence.
Read at Apartment Therapy
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